According to last Sunday’s New York Times’ article in the Sunday Review by Andrew Hacker, we are teaching math wrong. Rather than focusing on algebra and geometry, we should be focusing on “quantitative reasoning” skills – the math skills we will most likely use throughout our lives. These skills support a more comprehensive understanding of the math […]
How is rhythm and rhyme connected to early math learning? Our favorite rhythmic book, when the boys were little, was Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. I read that book so many times that I know every word by heart. We purchased several copies over those early years, since they did get a little worn out from […]
Everything about Dr. Seuss brings a smile to my face, from the rhyming sequences to the nonsensical words. The drawings are so lively and so engaging-you don’t know where to look first. If we begin at the beginning – the first book that comes to mind is The Cat in the Hat. There are so […]
While observing a kindergarten classroom the other day, I observed a child counting the pips on a die each time she rolled it. The lesson asked that children roll one die, read the number of pips, and complete a word chart determined by the number. Interestingly, this child could both read simple sight words […]
Take a look at this article from Bloomberg News which summarizes some important findings culled from a gigantic research paper funded by the Bridgespan Group and the Pritzker Children’s Initiative. Read through the list carefully and remind yourselves why the work we do is so critical. Write down some of the statistics so the next time someone […]
One of our Early Math Counts readers requested the link to the Inchworms I wrote about recently. I went to Google and put in the search terms inchworm and manipulative and the first thing that popped up was a site that sells the Inchworms I was looking for as well as Centibugs – a new manipulative I […]
How can we make meaning for young children out of a holiday like “President’s Day”? Our youngest children have no idea (or very little ideas) about the Presidents, or what a holiday that celebrates them is about. Older preschoolers may know who our current president is, they may even be able to name him, but […]
Sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? However, this is how many educators are thinking about readiness; looking at workforce needs and moving backward playing the blame game. If college wasn’t able to prepare their students for the workforce, then it must be the fault of the high schools. If high school couldn’t do their job, it is because grade […]
The multicolored layers of puffy winter wear that are required to keep a small child warm during February in Illinois provide endless opportunities for exhausting trips outdoors. It often takes an equal amount of time to get everyone dressed as it does to actually be outside. Snow pants, zippers, scarves, gloves, hats, and coats require dexterity […]
This article from the New York Times describes how important it is to let children’s creativity flourish and reiterates what we know to be true about the development of children; we need to stop pushing one agenda over another and let children grow up to be who they are meant to be. Creative children who […]